Author of best-selling horror novels infected And floodsMarc-André Pilon returns this spring with an original, thrill-filled dystopia The golf. We follow the adventures of a teenager, Aleksuan, trying to survive with his mother and two brothers in a desert and post-apocalyptic world.
Photo provided by Editions Hurtubise
Ever since his father left, Alek dreams of a better life in his world, which has already been turned upside down by disasters. Because misfortune never comes alone, the village where he lives is attacked by a group of mercenaries. Alek is captured and forced to become a warrior.
Like his new companions in misfortune, Alek is forced to follow the orders of their leader, who orders them to recover a precious ore lying at the bottom of a crevasse. The problem is that no one has ever come out of the abyss. Will Alek be better than the others at getting out of trouble?
Invent a “creature”
Marc-André Pilon explains in an interview that he researched the zombie myth with the Infected series. With Deluges, the haunted house. With Le gouffre he wanted a book with a “creature”.
“I thought first of what I wanted to be stupid in my book. The world was created around them. It brought with it the sci-fi side that wasn’t necessarily planned to begin with, or at least took up more space than I thought it would. »
Marc-André is very fond of dystopias.
“The only difference is that it’s not a political dystopia like 1984 or Brave New World. It’s more of a dystopia with an environmental flavor that reflects our fears about climate change about what the future might hold for us. »
The author had thought that with his creature he might have teenage soldiers forced to go into a mine where she is hiding. Its sci-fi universe makes Quebec a desert plain.
“We follow our character in this plane where he will go from the sun into the dark, under the earth where there is… the creature. »
Face your fears
The metaphorical aspect is present: facing the living being also means facing its fears, its fears, especially in relation to the environment.
“What I found interesting was that the enemy isn’t necessarily the creature. Of course, when you encounter him, things don’t go well… but eventually the character will understand that the creature is just trying to keep its territory. »
The teenage soldiers, forced to go into the abyss to exploit the earth’s last resources, are therefore confronted with the earth that says no, takes revenge, that fights back.
“There is an environmental message behind it. »
♦ Marc-André Pilon teaches French at a high school in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
♦ He is the author of popular horror novels infected 1, infected 2 And floods.